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TRP: Mishka and Roddy (Gallow's Humor)
Coyote: Day 173. Roddy has written a note to Jonn and left it out. Mishka comes across it and is deeply alarmed. Mishka kept going over the note in his head. Trying to remember the exact fucking wording. I hope nobody dies this time, the note had said. The maid, it said. Jonn, it said. Fucking Jonn. He’d known that Roddy was going to join the Sanguines. He hadn’t quite put together Jonn was in the Sanguines, though— not until now. God, this was such a bad fucking idea. Why were they tentatively allying with these fucks? He couldn’t stop the bad feeling in his gut. They ought to just assassinate Morgan Wyn now. Something about her seemed fucking dangerous. It was the way the others described her, even though he hadn’t met her— a crime lord who already had a serious hold on the city, her eyes set on taking down the Basha. Instead, they were pretending to help her. Sending Roddy, of all people, to work for her. In a few months, they’d end up actually working for her, and Mishka didn’t like that, not one fucking bit. She was going to attack them somehow. She was a danger. Jonn would corrupt Roddy. Roddy didn’t seem like a danger— he seemed fucking adorable— but then again, so had Jonn, and Jonn— Morgan Wyn has come out of nowhere, and so had Diva— Thoughts kept spiraling out of control in his head. Too many variables. What if Roddy... hurt him somehow, the way Jonn had... what if Roddy... Mishka let it stew for a day or two. Then he approached Roddy, eating breakfast in the kitchen. “Hey,” he said warily from the door. “Turtle Kid.”(edited) Muse: "Oh hey Mishka!" Roddy smiled, waved a little and nudged one of the chairs out a bit. "You hungry? I think there's enough oats left for you too. Samantha cooks good," he chattered happily. Oblivious to Mishka's hesitance. Things were good in Roddy's world. It'd been a couple days since he'd joined the Sanguine and he'd heard nothing so far. Therefore it must be safe enough to forget about that particular problem, at least for now, and enjoy hanging out with his team/family. For now that seemed to be Mishka. Coyote: “Yeah, not, ah, not hungry right now. Listen. Someone mentioned the other day— can’t recall who— Jonn is in the Sanguines, isn’t he? I didn’t realize that.” Muse: Uh oh. Roddy tensed, suddenly on edge. "Um, yeaaaah?" he said slowly, turning to study Mishka more closely. Yeah he looked- tense too. There was a reason Roddy avoided talking about Jonn with Mishka, but he hadn't expected Mishka to come talk to Roddy about him. Coyote: “You’re still in regular contact with him?” Mishka kept his posture casual as he could, but inside he was thinking: Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck. He kept his tone mild and curious, as if it were no big thing to him. Muse: Yeah Mishka was not looking so good. He was doing that thing where he was acting all fine but Roddy could hear it in his voice. Too casual, too careful. (Where was Dad when Roddy needed him??) "Um. Are you sure you want to talk about this?" Roddy asked. "You don't- seem like you do." Coyote: Mishka checked around automatically. Didn’t seem like he wanted to talk about it? He was fine. (Rapier, dimension stepping, invisibility... he was fine. Yeah. All good.) “What? No, I’m fine,” Mishka said. “Just— fucking curious, you know, he’s Hansel’s kid...” Muse: "That you don't like," Roddy pointed out. Coyote: “True, I’m not fond, no. How’s the guild thing going? Are you— partnered with him?”(edited) Muse: Roddy was not sure how to respond to this. Mishka was asking questions, Mishka was family, Roddy didn't like lying to family. But on the other hand... He was asking about Jonn. Mishka didn't like Jonn. Roddy didn't want to think Mishka was a danger to Jonn- but he also wanted to keep his brother safe. "We've seen each other," he said cautiously. "You know he's- my brother right? One I get along with." Coyote: Mishka shifted uncomfortably. He sat down, grabbing a roll from the basket. “Yeah,” he said. Eyes unfocused. “Yeah. Why?” Muse: What had been Roddy's point. "Well," he said slowly, drumming his fingers against the table. "Larkin- I think she might want to kill Jonn. And y'know- you don't exactly get along with him either." Roddy looked away, giving a little shrug. "I- want to make sure he's safe." Coyote: “Oh.” Mishka drummed his fingers. “Yeah,” he said finally. “I’d fucking love to kill Jonn. I’d like to gut him, honestly. But— Hansel—“ Mishka lapsed into silence. “Hansel would leave me if I did,” Mishka said. “I’m not gonna kill him, Roddy. I can’t. Hansel’s more important.” Muse: Roddy flinched, hearing that Mishka did want to kill Jonn admitted aloud. "Oh," he said quietly. Least Mishka wouldn't- cause of Dad. That was- good at least. Still left Roddy feeling uneasy about sharing too much but- Mishka'd be holding back. Because of Dad. Maybe it'd be safe? "I don't really know what's up with the guild yet," Roddy said finally. "I- met up with Wyn and joined up and then hung out with Jonn for a while. Not much to tell right now." Coyote: “Mm.” Mishka thought about his old crew, and he thought about Crunch and Chirp. Roddy reminded him of Chirp, a little— probably because of the age. Chirp had been a bard too. Mishka had been fucking fooling himself, before. Telling himself he hadn’t been attacked to his crew. He had been. He’d loved them. Hard not to, when you loved and died with the same people every day. If he hadn’t been forced to sacrifice Hansel to the dragon, it would’ve been one of them instead— Corven, or Elitash, or... well, fuck Serena, so not Serena, but... he’d loved her too, a bit. Mishka missed that. He missed his crew. He thought about lying to Roddy, or trying to manipulate him, somehow, but he couldn’t think of any ways to do it. And what was the point? “I found a letter,” Mishka said, “sitting about. Half-finished. Said something about a maid getting killed. Sorry— I didn’t mean to pry, just picked it up by mistake. Looked like something you wrote. Couple days ago.” Muse: Roddy froze. There was a knee-jerk sense of anger, betrayal. You read my note. Except Mishka'd already apologized- it had been a mistake. An accident. "Yeah. We uh. We broke into a house, was gonna rob it. The maid showed up and caught us. Jonn slit her throat." Roddy was not gonna mention how he'd healed her and then Jonn had cut it again, nope. "Kinda wish that hadn't happened," he said softly. Coyote: “Oh, thank fucking god,” Mishka said. “I mean. Good gods. Maids dying. Not alright, don’t do that, it’s against the rules. But. Good gods.” He bent over the table and put his head in his hands. Okay. Roddy said he wished it hadn’t happened. So, this one: not a sociopath. Muse: Roddy leaned away, looking at Mishka suspiciously. What was that all about. "Are you sure you're okay?" he asked. Coyote: “No. No, I need a breather. Fuck. Hang on.” Mishka pushed his chair out, then left through the side door, not wearing a jacket— just his long-sleeved shirt and boots. Muse: ...Mishka was being very weird. Roddy got up and followed him to the door, but not outside it. Just watched, wondering if he should get Mishka a coat or something. ...Probably better to let him have his space. Coyote: Mishka stood outside for a couple minutes. The heat radiating off him melted a puddle in the snow. After a couple minutes passed, he blew out his breath, then came back inside. “Alright. So. Roddy.” He searched for the words. “You felt bad about the maid dying? Why’s that?” Muse: "Well I mean- you go to jail when you get caught with a murder." Coyote: Mishka deflated a little. He didn’t respond, looking away. Muse: Ah- that had been the wrong thing to say, hadn't it? Uh. "And, um, I guess- I don't like it when people get killed?" he tried. "It's. I dunno. Just- would rather avoid it." Coyote: Alright. Mishka could fucking work with that. He tapped his fingers on the counter again. "Yeah. Yeah, good point. It's not fair, y'know. A guard knows what they're getting into. Someone who attacks you knows what they're getting into. Maids, though. Maids aren't in the game. That's different." Muse: "Uh, I guess?" Roddy scratched at the back of his neck. He wasn't sure he quite saw it that way. How did he see it though? ...Roddy didn't know. Coyote: Ah, Mishka thought. Maybe he shouldn't explain his weird, fucked-up morals to Turtle Kid. Turtle Kid was impressionable. He might accidentally make Roddy agree with him or something. "I just mean... a guard knows what's coming. A guard has a chance to defend themselves. It's fair. If someone tried to kill you or me, that's fair. We're mercenaries. We're fighters. But if someone came in here and... say... slit Samantha's throat, well, that's just immoral. See?" Muse: "I guess." Roddy shifted again, feeling uncomfortable. He didn't like talking about this- made him feel like he was... lacking something. He'd gotten snippy at Joan over it but- Mishka was talking in a way that was- easier for Roddy. Talking about himself, not asking about where Roddy's were. "I guess I don't- see it that way? I don't- think about right, and wrong," he said hesitantly. "I just- prefer not to kill people. In general." Coyote: "Why?" Mishka said. "I'm not expecting you to answer a certain way. And y'don't, like, have to answer. Just curious." Muse: Roddy shrugged. He was glad for the way out- but didn't feel the need to take it. "I just- don't, I guess. S'always been about- what benefits me. In the circus- I had to watch my own back pretty much. I'd work with people, mostly Amren but- I dunno. Didn't feel like anyone'd really back me if the worst happened." He fell quiet a minute, staring at the ground. "And, well, was right about that." He looked up again, pushing the bitterness of getting kicked out back. "I guess I'm just used to watching out for myself first. Everyone else..." he shrugged again. "That's their business." Coyote: Mishka laughed. "Yeah. Nine Hells, I fucking get that." Then he sobered up. "Different now, though, isn't it? Hansel told me about the mess in town. About Goro and Larkin and Sugar all bailing you out of trouble. Shit changes." Muse: "Yeah," Roddy smiled softly. Things had. For the better. "I don't miss it anymore. The circus. Well. Sometimes. I miss some pieces more than others. But this is better. Wouldn't trade it for anything." Coyote: "Yeah." Mishka wasn't sure about himself. He'd had people before, and he'd fucked it up and lost them. "Hey. If I wrote a note to Jonn, would you deliver it for me? I'd go talk to him in-person if I could, but I feel like you'd rather not tell me where he is. Which is fine." Muse: Immediately Roddy's hackles were back up. "Why d'you want to write a note to Jonn?" Roddy asked, crossing his arms and glaring. Coyote: "So I can tell him to go fuck himself," Mishka said, then chuckled. "Ahah. No, I actually haven't decided what I'd say to him yet. It was just a passing thought." He waved his hand. "I had the passing thought maybe I'd say something to him, but I don't know what it would be, honestly. If I do come up with something, you can read it first. Won't offend me." Muse: Roddy still was suspicious. But then again, Mishka did say he wouldn't kill Jonn- for Hansel's sake. So there was that. "I am definitely reading anything before I give it to him," he warned. "And no promises." Coyote: "Alright. No problem. I'll think on it." Mishka's mind was already skating through the possibilities. He had a way to contact Jonn, somehow. This was good, he could... use this... somehow. Just needed to decide what for. Alright. Problem. Jonn could be a bad fucking influence on Roddy. Potential solutions: Kill Jonn. Talk Roddy into staying away from Jonn. Scare Jonn off, somehow. Or maybe... could Roddy be a good influence on Jonn? Wouldn't that be something. Couldn't kill Jonn. That was out. He could potentially manipulate Jonn and Roddy against each other, but it was too risky; once you started manipulating people, they could find out, which burned bridges pretty fucking fast. Manipulation was reserved for potential enemies, people you didn't mind losing. Roddy was part of Mishka's crew. He could try scaring Jonn off. That was a good solution. He would need to find a way to talk to Jonn in person, though. Mishka could brainstorm ideas. The best solution, likely, was simply to talk to Roddy. He just didn't want Hansel's kid to become a fucking sociopath and murder him in the middle of the goddamn night. Mishka suddenly realized he'd been staring into space a bit. He cleared his throat. "Uh. Sorry." Muse: Mishka'd been staring off into space for a bit. Normally this would be where Roddy grabbed his arm, but Mishka didn't like that. Mishka liked to be the one initiating the touching, at least with Roddy. So he'd found a stick on the ground nearby and was about to poke Mishka with it when suddenly he was paying attention again. "Oh hey you're back," Roddy said, waving at Mishka with the stick. "Do you do that much?" Coyote: "Mm. Only when I'm plotting." Shit. He shouldn't have said he was plotting. Muse: "What were you plotting?" Roddy asked suspiciously. "You know I'm also gonna be very mad if you murder my brother." Coyote: "Haha. Plotting... what to write. Plotting what to write," Mishka said. "Sorry. Again. Objectively, yes, I often fantasize about running into Jonn in a busy market square, seeing him across the street, grabbing him, teleporting him to my former estate, then leaving him to slowly die of dehydration in my walled-up cellar. But. Hansel. And yeah, Roddy, I'd... hate to make you sad, y'know." Muse: Roddy looked disturbed. "Okay but you know you taught me to teleport! I could get in there and save him!" Coyote: "Oh fuck. Yeah, I s'pose you could. If you knew he was there. Well, if he ever goes missing, you're welcome to check," Mishka said, amused. Muse: "I just might!" Though right now Roddy only had the magic for one a day. But they could survive overnight just fine- especially if Roddy brought food and water with him. Course then if he was wrong Roddy'd be out of commission for a day and that'd give Mishka more time to do whatever and he was working himself into a good panic. Coyote: "Oh no," Mishka said. "Ah, Turtle Kid. I'm sorry. Settle down, you look pale. Look. I'm just fuckin' weird, alright? I'm not gonna kill your brother. Worse case scenario I'd go shout at him. It's fine." He patted Roddy on the shell. His face softened, and he looked away. "Y'know, I really fucking love Hansel. I hate Jonn more than anything else in the world. But I love Hans more than that. I want you to know that." And then he added, "I've also considered hurting Jonn in non-lethal ways, likes setting him on fire and then putting him out, but I feel like Hanse would also be upset by that. So." Muse: Roddy made a high keening noise and flapped his arms around, pulling away from Mishka's touch. "Would you not say things like that? I love Jonn! He is my brother! I do not want to hear about this!" Coyote: "What?" Mishka said, surprised. "It was just... I was just making a joke, Roddy. I'm not going to actually do that. It's just words. It's funny. It's..." Muse: "It's not funny!" Roddy yelled. "Do I sound like I'm amused?!" Coyote: "No," Mishka said. "Look, why y'being upset? Just... don't be upset. It's that fucking easy. Look. Do what I do. Go stand outside in the snow and count to seven until the feeling goes away. I mean, sometimes you have to bury it a bit, but..." Muse: "I'm being upset because you're talking about murdering and maiming my brother!" Roddy took several steps away from Mishka. "I don't wanna calm down or bury it or whatever! I want you to stop!" January 25, 2019 Coyote: A horrible feeling hit him. The emotion was too big too identify: It felt like something in him snapped loose, some kind’ve dam, and he was dealing with all the emotions at once. Mishka didn’t think. He just bolted. Sometimes—a few rare times—his magic worked without him consciously thinking about it. He pictured blue skies, and wide open spaces; he pictured being somewhere safe, alone by himself, out in the cold. He vanished with a crack. He reappeared on the roof. He crawled behind one of the many chimneys and hid there, out of sight from the ground. Breathe. Seven seconds in, seven seconds out. Oh fuck. He’d pissed off Roddy. Roddy didn’t seem like a threat, but then again, neither had Jonn—Jonn had seemed adorable, harmless, amusing, Mishka had taunted him, tried to make it worse—and true, no one seemed like they wanted to hurt Mishka right now, but he’d thought that before—he’d barely even fucking met Diva before she decided to host him for her own amusement—god, what if—Tricksy—Sugar told Tricksy his weaknesses, and he didn’t fucking know why, he didn’t know what he’d done to piss Tricksy off, or why she’d cared about the plague— And Roddy was pissed at him. He kept fucking things up. He kept misstepping. He’d been like this ever since Diva had hosted him. Maybe there was something wrong with him now; maybe—or maybe there had always been something wrong with him. This was an overreaction. All Roddy did was scream at him. He needed to calm down. Seven seconds in. Seven seconds out. Didn’t this just prove something was wrong with him, though? Didn’t this just prove it? He was losing his mind and there was nothing wrong. All the thoughts inside his head were scrambled. Mishka pushed up his sleeve and pinched himself hard enough to bruise, then kept doing it over and over again. When his arm was numb and throbbing with pain, he moved to his wrist and started clawing at it. Muse: Mishka ran away. Roddy thought about shouting after him. Wasn’t sure what he’d say but. It’d be something. But then there was a crack and Mishka vanished. Where’d he go? Roddy whirled in a circle, trying to spot him. No Mishka. Well that was- that was typical. Roddy was just trying to make a point and Mishka up and teleports away. (Dad wouldn’t be mad this wasn’t Roddy’s fault.) Letting out a strangled shout of frustration, Roddy chucked the stick in hand as far as he could. It didn’t help. And what gave Mishka the right anyway? Making jokes about horribly murdering Roddy’s brother and then- and then- cracking off when Roddy got mad about it? Roddy was furious. No- he was upset. And anger over Mishka disappearing was- safer. Otherwise, Roddy might get angry over something that was a bigger deal. (This wasn’t Roddy’s fault. Getting upset about- getting upset wasn’t unreasonable.) Everything was going to be fine. Roddy just needed to cool off. (Mishka needed to cool off.) Roddy turned and stomped back inside, headed for his room. He’d calm down, then maybe- talk to someone. He didn’t know. It’d be fine. (Roddy was ignoring the whisper that said no it wouldn’t.) Muse: END Title/Summary: Gallow's Humor. Mishka talks to Roddy about the note he found. Some things are cleared up. They talk about Jonn, and then Mishka starts joking about killing him. Roddy doesn't take it well. Mishka doesn't take that well either. Category:Text Roleplay